Wire-gate fastening.



No. 762,481. 7 G. E..KLIPPING. I

WIRE GATE FASTENING. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11, 1904.

PATEYNTEDV JUNE 14, 190-4;

HQ IODEL.

JJ JZ-- Wiizyzsses n 6 93 UNITED STATES Patented June 14:, 1904.

GEORGE EDlVARD KLIPPING, OF FOREST CITY, IOVA.

WIRE-GATE FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 762,481, dated June 14, 1904.

Application filed January 11, 1904,. Serial No. 188,540. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE EDWARD KLIP- PING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Forest City, in the county of Winnebago and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful TVire-Gate Fastening, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fastening means for wire gates, and has for its object to simplify and improve the construction and produce a device of this character inexpensive to manufacture, easilyapplied and operated, and by means of which the gate may be strained to any required extent and the device adjusted to variations in thelength of the gate.

vWith this and other objects in view, the nature of which will appear as the invention is better understood, the inventionconsists in certain novel features of construction, as hereinafter shown and described, and specified in the claims.

' In the drawings which form a part of this specification, and in which corresponding parts are denoted by like designating'charactors, is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention capable of carrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that the invention is not necessarily limited thereto, as various changes in the form, proportions, and other minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is therefore reserved of making all the changes and modifications which may fairly fall within the scope of the claims.-

In the drawings thus employed, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a gate and portions of the adjacent fence-with the improvement applied. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the lever, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the bracket detached and enlarged.

The improved device herein described is designed for operation in connection with gates in wire fences and may be applied to any of the various forms of such fences manufactured, and for the purpose of illustration sections of such fences are shown with the usual posts 10 11 at each side of the gatewayopening, the strand-Wires 12 13 being conneeted to these posts in the usual manner. The gate employed in this class of fences and to which the device herein described and shown is applied consists of horizontal strands 14:, which may be continuations of the strandwires 13 of the fence at one side of the gateway, the free ends of the gate-wires terminating in a vertical bar 15, to which they are connected in any secure manner, preferably by looping around the bar and coiling the ends around the body of the wire. The post 10 adjacent to the free end of the gate is provided with a loop 16 to receive the lower end of the gate-bar 15. Between the post 10 adjacent to the free end of the gate and the next post 17 in the line of the fence is a brace member 18, and attached to this brace and likewise to the rear face of the post 10 is a bracket formed with a horizontal base portion 19, resting on the brace member, a vertical side portion 20 hearing against the post 10 and spaced side arms 21 22 extending above the post with a lateral stop 23 on one of the arms. The portions 19 and 20 will be connected, respectively, to the brace and post by bolts or screws to hold them in position.

A lever is provided consisting of a handle I portion 24; terminating in a hook 25 and spaced portions 26 27, the latter pivoted at 28 29 to the arms 21 22 and likewise riveted or otherwise connected to the handle portion near the hook 25. Attached to one of the arms 21 22 is a resilient catch 30, with which the lever automatically connects when depressed, the same lever being engaged by the stop 23 when in its upper position to prevent its being thrown too far over, and thus obstructing the gateway-opening. By this means the lever is properly limited in both its forward and backward throw. A connecting means is provided between the bar 15 and the lever, which must be both flexible and adjustable and also preferably yieldable to secure the best results, and the preferred form of this connecting means is a chain 31, having a large link or eye 32 at one end for engagement with the gatebar 15 and with the other end connected to a spring 33, which in turn is connected to the hook 25. The connecting means between the chain and springis preferably a hook 34, which may be engaged with any required link of the chain, and thus adjust the length of the latter. By this simple means the tension of the spring may be adjusted to any required extent.

The connecting means, it is obvious, may be so adjusted that when the lever is thrown into its outward position the bar 15 and the gate-wires may be strained to any required extent and the gate portion rendered as firm and taut as any other portion of the fence.

While the spring member 33 greatly improves the action and will generally be employed in some form, the spring is not an indispensable feature, as the dcvice is operative without it, and I do not, therefore, desire to be limited to its use.

The brace member 18 supports the bracket for the operating-lever and also affords additional support to the post 10 and strengthens and stiffens the structure.

By this arrangement of parts it will be obvious that a very simple, cheaply-constructed, and easily-operated device is produced whereby the gate may be firmly supported and strained to any required extent.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed isl. A device of the class described. comprising a bracket having spaced upstanding sides, one of which is provided with an inwardlydirected lateral stop-shoulder and an upstanding spring-catch, a forked lever having its forked end fulcrumed upon the sides of the bracket between the stop and the spring-catch, the latter being disposed in the downward path of the lever to lock the same in its sub stantially horizontal position, a hook carried by the lever and located between the forked members thereof, a spring loosely connected to the hook and terminating at its outer end in a hook, and a chain for adjustable connection with the hook of the spring and terminating at one end in an enlarged link for engagement with the end bar of a gate.

2. A device of the class described comprising a bracket, a lever fulcrumed upon the bracket, a stop carried by the bracket and located in the path of the lever to limit its movement in one direction, a spring-catch carried by the bracket and disposed to lock the lever at its opposite limit, and gate-bar-engaging means loosely carried by the lever.

3. A device of the class described comprising a bracket,a lever fulcrumed thereon, a hook loosely carried by the lever, and a chain terminating at one end in an enlarged linkto engage a gate-bar, the links of the chain capable of individual engagement with the hook to adjust the operating length of the chain.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a wire gate having an end bar, a stationary fence-post, abracket upon the post, a lever formed of an outer handle portion terminatingina hook at its inner end and spaced lower portions for pivotal connection at their lower ends in said bracket and attached to said handle portion by their other ends, and a flexible connecting means between said hookedl andle portion terminal and said gate-bar.

5. A device of the class described comprising a bracket, a lever fulcrumed thereon, and gate-engaging means carried by the lever and includinga spring to impart elasticity thereto.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a wire gate having an end bar, a stationary fence-post, a bracket upon the post provided with spaced sides, a lever having a bifurcated terminal pivoted to said spaced bracket sides, one of said bracket sides having a lateral stop to limit the movement of said lever in one direction and detachable connectingmeans between said gate-bar and lever intermediate its length.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a wire gate having an end bar, a stationary fen ce-post, a bracket upon the post, a lever pivoted by one end to the bracket, a connecting means detachably engaging said gate-bar and adjustably attached to said lever intermediate its length, and a catch carried by said bracket for detachable engagement with said lever when active.

8. A device of the class described including a lever, a spring loosely carried by the lever and terminating at its free end in a hook, and a chain having means for engagement with a gate-bar and its links capable of individual engagement with the hook of the spring to adjust the operating length of the chain.

9. A device of the class described including a lever a hook carried thereby, and a chain having terminal means for detachable connection with a gate, the links of the chain capable of being individually engaged with the hook of the lever to adjust the operating length of the chain.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE EDVARD KLIPPING. l/Vitnessesz l/VILL HARTLEIP,

B. H. THOMAS. 

